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Assadist–Saddamist conflict

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Assadist-Saddamist conflict
Part of Arab Cold War
Date1979–2003
Location
All over the Arab world, mainly in Iraq and Syria
Result

De facto Assadist victory

  • Reconciliation process begins in 1997, process enhances with ascension of Bashar al-Assad
  • United States invades Iraq and removes Saddamists from power in Iraq
Belligerents

Assadists

Syria Ba'athist Syria


Supported by:
 Soviet Union
 Iran
Iraqi opposition
Hezbollah
State of Palestine PLO (factions)

South Yemen
Libya
Algeria

Saddamists

Ba'athist Iraq Ba'athist Iraq


Supported by:
 United States (until 1991)
 Saudi Arabia (until 1991)
 Kuwait (until 1991)
 Sudan
North Yemen
Somalia Somalia
 Jordan
 Morocco
Lebanese Forces
Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
Syrian opposition Syrian Opposition
State of Palestine PLO (factions)

Commanders and leaders
Syria Hafez al-Assad
Syria Bashar al-Assad
Syria Maher al-Assad
Syria Hassan Turkmani
Syria Assef Shawkat
Saddam Hussein
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Tariq Aziz
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Salah Al-Mukhtar
Raghad Hussein

The Assadist-Saddamist conflict, also known as the Ba'ath Party intraconflict, refers to the conflict between the Assadist Syrian-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups, and the Saddamist Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups.

History

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The conflict emerged after the Ba'ath Party split into two factions, that of Syria and that of Iraq, following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état where Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar were overthrown by Hafez al-Assad and Salah Jadid. In the 1970s, the two Ba'athist parties managed to reconcile, although the conflict erupted again as a result of the 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge in Iraq.[1][2]

In 1980, when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, leading to the Iran-Iraq war, the Syrian Ba'ath chose to ally with Iran. This began a Syrian Baathist alliance with Shia Islamists, and an Iraqi Baathist alliance with the West and Sunni Islamists. Despite the Baath Party as a whole claiming to be secular, the conflict is partially rooted in sectarianism as the Iraqi Baath party was led by Sunnis, while the Syrian Baath party was led by Alawites.[3] The Iraqi Baath Party supported the Muslim Brotherhood in their revolt against the Syrian Baath.[4]

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. After United Nations Security Council authorization, Syria joined the coalition that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in the 1991 Gulf War. Syria broke relations after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and joined other Arab states in sending military forces to the coalition that forced Iraq out of Kuwait. However by 1997, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad began reestablishing relations with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[5] Hafez died in 2000 and Iraq sent Vice President Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf to attend the state funeral. The ascendance of Bashar al-Assad in 2000 boosted this process.[6] Under Bashar, Syria ignored the sanctions against Iraq and assisted Iraq to illegally import oil.[7]

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq and removed the Saddamists from power, leaving the Syrian Arab Republic as the only remaining Ba'athist state.

References

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  1. ^ Batatu, Hanna (1999). Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00254-1.
  2. ^ Ehteshami, Anoushiravan; Hinnebusch, Raymond A. (2002). Syria and Iran: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System. New York, USA: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15675-0.
  3. ^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton), 2006, p.154
  4. ^ "The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood". Cablegate. 26 February 1985. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  5. ^ Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 118.
  6. ^ Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 117.
  7. ^ Harris 2012, p. 267.

Bibliography

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